The AmitÃÂyus Sutra (Sanskrit), ; Sutra of Immeasurable Life Spoken by Buddha; Vietnamese: PháºÂt Thuyết Vô Lðợng Thá» Kinh; Japanese: Bussetsu Muryà Âju Kyà  (Taisho Tripitaka no. 360), also known as the Longer SukhÃÂvatëvyà «ha Sà «tra, is one of the two Indian Mahayana sutras which describe the pure land of AmitÃÂbha (also known as AmitÃÂyus, "Measureless Life"). Together with the SukhÃÂvatëvyà «ha Sà «tra, this text is highly influential in East Asian Buddhism. It is one of the three central scriptures of East Asian Pure Land Buddhism, and is widely revered and chanted by Pure Land Buddhists throughout Asia.
The title is often translated in English as either the Sutra [on the Buddha] of Immeasurable Life, or simply the Immeasurable Life Sutra.
Some scholars believe that the Longer SukhÃÂvatëvyà «ha Sà «tra was compiled in the age of the Kushan Empire in the first and second centuries by an order of Mahëà ÂÃÂsaka monastics who flourished in the GandhÃÂra region. It is likely that the longer SukhÃÂvatëvyà «ha owed greatly to the LokottaravÃÂda sect as well for its compilation, and in this sà «tra there are many elements in common with the MahÃÂvastu.
The earliest of the Chinese translations show traces of having been translated from the GÃÂndhÃÂrë language, a prakrit used in the Northwest. It is also known that manuscripts in the Kharoá¹£á¹Âhë script existed in China during this period.
Traditionally the Longer SukhÃÂvatëvyà «ha Sà «tra is believed to have been translated into Chinese twelve times from the original Sanskrit from 147 to 713 CE. Only five translations are extant in the Chinese Buddhist canon.
The five Chinese translations are (in order of translation date):
Furthermore, there is a Tibetan translation, which is similar to the last two later recensions in Chinese. This is the âÂÂPhags pa âÂÂod dpag med kyi bkod pa (*ÃÂryÃÂmitÃÂbhavyà «ha; D 49/P 760) translated in the 9th century by Jinamitra, DÃÂnaà Âëla, and Ye shes sde.
In addition to the translations, the Sà «tra is also extant in Sanskrit, surviving in a late Nepalese manuscript. The Sanskrit has been directly translated into English by F. Max Mueller. It is a "late recension" type similar to the Tibetan edition.
There are also several fragments of another version in Sanskrit, along with fragments of Uighur, Khotanese, and Xixia translations.
According to Luis O. Gomez, there are some significant differences between the Sanskrit and the Chinese edition of Buddhabhadra / Saá¹ ghavarman. Gomez writes: <blockquote>the order of the narrative and the argument deviate, sometimes only on minor points, sometimes in major ways; differences in content occur throughout, and range from a regrouping and rearrangement of important themes (in the content and structure of the verse portions, for instance, and in the vows), to significant omissions and additions. The parallels, however, are more and stronger than the divergences, so that our understanding of one version may still benefit from our reading of the other. Two long passages in Sanghavarman's version have no correspondence in the Sanskrit (or, for that matter, in the Tibetan) versions. These passages are probably "interpolations," but we have no way of knowing for certain today where and when they were added to the text.</blockquote>
There are over twenty commentaries on this sutra written in China, Korea and Japan, all based on the Buddhabhadra / Saá¹ ghavarman translation which became the standard in Chinese Buddhism.
The Dilun scholar Jingying Huiyuan (淨影栧é , J. Jà Âyà  Eon) wrote the earliest extant Chinese commentary to the Sutra of Immeasurable Life.
Jizang (549-623) of the Sanlun school, also wrote an early commentary on this sutra.
In Japan, the 12th-century Pure Land scholar HÃ Ânen wrote four separate commentaries on the sutra.
In the Longer SukhÃÂvatëvyà «ha Sà «tra, the Buddha begins by describing to his attendant ÃÂnanda a past life of the Buddha AmitÃÂbha. He states that in a past life, AmitÃÂbha was once a king who renounced his kingdom and became a bodhisattva monk named DharmÃÂkara ("Dharma Storehouse"). Under the guidance of the Buddha Lokeà ÂvararÃÂja ("World Sovereign King"), innumerable Buddha-lands throughout the ten directions were revealed to him.
The sutra is presented as a discourse delivered by the Buddha Shakyamuni, often near the city of Shravasti in India. The implicit setting is a cosmos of many world systems, with Shakyamuni speaking in our world to an audience, while also describing a distant world.
After meditating for five eons as a bodhisattva, he then made a great series of vows to save all sentient beings, and through his great merit, created the realm of SukhÃÂvatë ("Ultimate Bliss"). This land of SukhÃÂvatë would later come to be known as a pure land (Ch. æ·¨åÂÂ) in Chinese translation. The number of vows differ depending on the sutra versions. Forty-eight are found in the common Chinese version, though a Sanskrit version mentions forty-seven. These vows articulate his resolve to save all sentient beings and define the qualities and conditions of the buddha-field he intended to create. The "past vows" are considered the pivotal force in Amitayus' attainment of Buddhahood and the generation of his pure Buddhafield. Key vows include promises regarding:
Amitabha is the central figure in the sutra, also known as Amitayus. He is the Buddha of Measureless Light, his light spreading unimpeded over all buddha-fields. He is also the Buddha of Measureless Life, with an immeasurable life span, as do the inhabitants of his land. He attained Buddhahood ten cosmic ages ago.
The sutra also provides a detailed and magnificent description of Amitayus' buddha-field called the "Array of Bliss". Once in SukhÃÂvatë , beings experience only boundless happiness, never knowing evil or suffering. The land is adorned with precious substances like gold, silver, emerald, and rock crystal, forming railings, rows of trees, and ponds. It features lotus ponds with clean water and golden sand. Heavenly music is constantly played, and blossoms fall. The ground is golden and pleasant. It is depicted as far superior to any other world. Beings born in the Land of Bliss are of high virtue and progress irreversibly on the spiritual path, with many being only one birth away from full awakening. They include a vast number of disciples (arhats) and bodhisattvas. They have extraordinary abilities, such as traveling to other worlds to worship buddhas before their forenoon meal and returning for their nap. They recite the story of the Dharma. However, the sutra also mentions a segregated state for some beings for 500 years, where they are deprived of certain experiences.
Shakyamuni exhorts his audience to aspire to be reborn in the Land of Bliss. Rebirth is not achieved through meager merit but through generating an earnest desire, hearing and embracing Amitabha's name, and keeping it in mind single-mindedly. The practice of recollecting the Buddha (nianfo), especially ten times, is presented as a way to guarantee rebirth according to the eighteenth vow. Reliance on the spiritual power and grace of the Buddha Amitabha, based on his vows and merit transference, is a key theme.
Shakyamuni Buddha then recounts how numerous Buddhas in all directions of the universe praise Sukhavati, confirming the truth of his message about the Land of Bliss and Amitabha. This act of praise by other Buddhas is related to the alternative title of the associated shorter sutra, "Embraced by All Buddhas," suggesting that all Buddhas promote this teaching.
Lastly the sutra shows the Buddha discoursing at length to the future Buddha, Maitreya, describing the various forms of evil that Maitreya must avoid to achieve his goal of becoming a Buddha as well as other admonitions and advice.
A Peace Bell with an enclosure was constructed in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on September 20, 1964. Among its inscriptions is a Sanskrit quote from SukhÃÂvatëvyà «ha Sà «tra:
The English translation (Müller, Max, trans. 1894, pp. 23âÂÂ24, verses 2 and 5):
The Chinese translation: